Particularize Based On Books Fup
| Title | : | Fup |
| Author | : | Jim Dodge |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 59 pages |
| Published | : | January 1st 1987 by City Miner Books (first published 1983) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Short Stories. Humor. Literature. American |
Jim Dodge
Paperback | Pages: 59 pages Rating: 4.07 | 2675 Users | 291 Reviews
Commentary Conducive To Books Fup
Jake Santee has discovered the secret to immortality: a home-made whiskey called Ol’ Death Whisper. Sup this and you’ll live forever! When his daughter unexpectedly dies, 99 year-old Jake takes in his grandson Tiny, who of course grows up to be a giant! The two live happily on the farm until they make an enemy: the wild pig Lockjaw. While hunting Lockjaw one day, Tiny finds an abandoned baby duck and takes her in. Her name? Fup.Jim Dodge’s novella is an absolutely delightful read and I’m pleased to say it holds up nearly 15 years after I first read it. Dodge’s writing is hard to describe but it’s unique and genius - this guy is a master and reading his sentences sets my brain on fire in ways few writers have ever done. This is someone who could describe next to nothing happening and hold you entranced the entire time! I’ve never read a writer like him.
The characters are charming and sharply realised from Grandpaw Jake to quiet Tiny and the irascible Fup. It’s a very short read but Dodge firmly entrenches his characters into your mind. Jake in particular is a charismatic old coot - like the characters in Dodge’s best novel, Stone Junction, he’s a gambler and a storyteller with a potty mouth (the best kind of storyteller). Fup’s name for example - Fup, Duck = Fucked Up. Silly but kinda funny and perfectly in keeping with the character.
If there’s a criticism it’s that the narrative doesn’t go anywhere once Fup is introduced. It’s basically Tiny, Fup and Jake hunting Lockjaw but they don’t do it the whole time and meander around doing cutesy things with Fup like take her to the drive-in or try to teach her to fly.
The fable part of the story is one of the last things to happen. Without spoiling it, I’m not entirely sure what the message is besides something weak like learning to forgive your enemy maybe? I choose to believe it’s got no message at all purely because the surrealism is so wonderful and the fate of our characters too beautiful to be ruined by attempts at understanding it - it just happens and it’s a great ending. Not everything needs a meaning, sometimes the imagery alone is enough.
Fup is a masterfully-written, totally engaging and enormously fun read by one of America’s best kept literary secrets, Jim Dodge. At little over a short story’s length Fup’s a very quick read but it’ll stay with you for years. Highly recommended to everyone who likes their stories humorous and spiked with a lil magical realism!
Define Books To Fup
| Original Title: | Fup |
| ISBN: | 0933944047 (ISBN13: 9780933944046) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Setting: | California(United States) |
Rating Based On Books Fup
Ratings: 4.07 From 2675 Users | 291 ReviewsWrite-Up Based On Books Fup
Thank you Theo for reviewing this book and thus recommending it to me!It is a very short book, but exquisitly written. The story is about a rough old granddaddy hick and his grandson and what happens when they adopt a very assertive duckling called Fup Duck. That really does not tell you what the book is like though. The book is evocative, emotional, humerous and ... fupped-uck.The ending is a bit odd. But I'll forgive it that.Jake Santee has discovered the secret to immortality: a home-made whiskey called Ol Death Whisper. Sup this and youll live forever! When his daughter unexpectedly dies, 99 year-old Jake takes in his grandson Tiny, who of course grows up to be a giant! The two live happily on the farm until they make an enemy: the wild pig Lockjaw. While hunting Lockjaw one day, Tiny finds an abandoned baby duck and takes her in. Her name? Fup. Jim Dodges novella is an absolutely delightful read and Im pleased to
A cute little story, especially charming to me since I used to live in the general area. A Tom Robbins-y kind of humor, but with just a dash of Mark Twain-ish sharpness.
I knew I would give this four stars, but had to let it settle with Me a minute before finally deciding on five. A very well written, poignant story of an old man's love for his grandson, and a mallard duck who becomes a part of their family. I'd heard from others that they were moved to tears by the story, and I can see why some might be. It didn't get Me quite to that point, but the fact that I'm still thinking on the story a day after completing it suggests that it had a definite impact.
I genuinely enjoyed this little book. A brief, occasionally hilarious, sometimes poignant story set in the Northern California of the mid-twentieth century. There is not much traditional action. There is Granddaddy Jake - who makes and drinks a whiskey called Death Whisper - and his grandson Tiny. There is a duck. There is a wild boar. There are short philosophical forays regarding stillness and action, fences and openness, then life and death. The writing is simple....and yet not. Despite the
If you come across this little gem, don't pass it up. It's hard to classify this book, but the author Jim Dodge just calls it a story. It's reminiscent of the California stories of Mark Twain, but a little saltier and stranger. It's 96 pages, part yarn, part fable. It's a story of love, loyalty, redemption, and weirdness. I'll just leave you with a quote from the book: "It just ain't possible to explain some things, maybe even most things. It's interesting to wonder on them and do some
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